Can China Combat Its Natural Gas Crisis?

Last December, LNG imports into China hit a record high amid natural gas shortages due to the government moving too fast with its shift from coal to gas as well as gas transport infrastructure construction falling behind. But this year things will be different, according to the head of Sinopec’s trading division, Unipec. Speaking at the LNG Forum in Singapore, Chen Bo said, as quoted by Reuters, “We didn’t have the experience before to deal with such a situation.” But this year, he added, “demand will increase but the government and companies will control.” Last year, China became the world’s second-largest LNG importer, taking in some 38 million tons of the fuel, a 46-percent increase on 2016. Even so, some parts of the country suffered shortages because the gas could not reach them fast enough. As a result, China is now actively working on expanding its LNG storage capacity […]